The Rookie Thread

ok so i found some drivers for it but i have seen soem on here say they just plugged it in..

 

i cant even get the option t control now.

 

 

Have you plugged msff2' power chord in?

Hey gang,

 

Just thought I would drop in and say hello. I purchased Black Shark this past week, got it installed yesterday morning, and needless to say am feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I am so glad I have found this forum! I just got done reading through this thread and already have found it very helpful.

 

So far I really like the looks of this sim. I have been working on the training missions, namely the taxi, controlled hover, and takeoff so far. I have the settings on " game " mode, and must say if that is reflected in these training missions I may be in trouble! I find the chopper a little hard to fly.

I do have a TM Cougar setup, with the U2 NXT gimbals and hall sensors, so I have at least a decent hotas setup, along with a Track IR4 Pro, Will be working on a joystick file for my Cougar over the next few days while hopping in and out of training. I guess I will go ahead and set it to realistic in the options, rather than learning on game mode then moving up...

 

Anyway, just wanted to say hello, I am very pleased I have this sim now - going to try and order a printed manual as well. I am sure y'all will be hearing more from me here as I continue to try to learn this sim.

 

 

Don

I assume your Drivers for the Flightstick are Installed/Up to date?

 

There are no (working) drivers for the FFB2 anymore, apart from those that are integrated into windows. DO NOT install any of the old control center sh**, cause it will probably mess things up for you. Did you setup the stick in your controls page inside the game? You may have to activate FFB before the game works properly. Also check if your windows recognises the stick. Apart from that, i can only tell that it's not the game, coz it works like a charm for me (same stick).

forget it. its the wierdest thing i chnged the pause buttong to anothe rkey and now it works first time every time.. love it.

No HUD speed reading

 

Im not getting any speed reading in the top left of my HUD. I get it when I use auto startup. But when I do a manual startup It's not there.

 

I must be missing something out. It seems strange that the only thing missing from the HUD is the speed reading though.

G'day!

 

Hi folks. :)

I have posted in Meet and Greet under Reality thread, but I thought I'd post a greeting here!

 

Been "flying" this helo for about 2 weeks now, but only just starting to get serious in sim mode. After reading Dummy's Guide to BS by Parabellum, I realised the truth of jumping into Sim mode right from the beginning. I found that flying in game mode makes me a bit slack, PLUS, I don't get the full benefit of the sim experience.

 

So, I am saying a big hello and maybe I'll see you in a MP server sometime.:thumbup:

BTW, any other Aussie flyers here? Maybe from South Australia?

 

Cheers,

Spuddy.

Theres definately a few other Aussies / Kiwi's that post around here

Im not getting any speed reading in the top left of my HUD. I get it when I use auto startup. But when I do a manual startup It's not there.

 

I must be missing something out. It seems strange that the only thing missing from the HUD is the speed reading though.

Does it stay gone? The Doppler nav takes a few minutes to warm up and doesn't give a reading while on the ground. You may be starting things up in a different order than the auto-start, or are just quicker, and the Doppler nav may not be up yet.

 

If you've been up in the air moving about for more than say, 5 minutes, and still don't get a ground-speed indication, then check that the K-041 power switch on the targeting mode control panel and the Nav switch on the wall panel (next to IFF) are both on.

 

You could also post the track for others here to review.

Does it stay gone? The Doppler nav takes a few minutes to warm up and doesn't give a reading while on the ground. You may be starting things up in a different order than the auto-start, or are just quicker, and the Doppler nav may not be up yet.

 

If you've been up in the air moving about for more than say, 5 minutes, and still don't get a ground-speed indication, then check that the K-041 power switch on the targeting mode control panel and the Nav switch on the wall panel (next to IFF) are both on.

 

You could also post the track for others here to review.

 

After flying around for a while it does come on. Then sometimes dissapears again for a bit. Maybe the real Black Shark does this too?

After flying around for a while it does come on. Then sometimes dissapears again for a bit. Maybe the real Black Shark does this too?

The Doppler nav will get reset if it loses AC power. The onboard generators disengage if the rotor rpm drops below a certain value (don't know the number but it's about 75% - 80%, well after the alarm goes off). Once the Doppler nav is off, there's another start-up delay!

 

My suggestion: wait for the Doppler nav to warm up before engaging Auto Hover and don't let your rotor rpm go below the red mark, and you'll never have this problem!

 

Good luck!

When flying the route manually (without Route AP mode on) and when passing over a waypoint, should the PVI-800 automatically change to the next waypoint? Or do you have to change waypoints manually? :huh:

In Route mode, in both DH and DT positions, the system switches to the next waypoint automatically when you fly over one.

I couldn't find the answer in the manual.

Edited September 14, 2009 by Griffin

yes, when in route mode, the PVI will automatically switch to the next WP..when at the end of the waypoint path, it will hold current heading

Yes I already knew that. Let's put it this way.

Do you have to switch manually to the next waypoint on the PVI-800 when flying the route manually (NOT in Route mode)?

 

Funny how such basic function makes you ask questions after a few months of flying the Shark. It does feel like a dumb question for such obvious function but I just can't find the info.

Oh, sorry, didn't read correctly..

Yes, you will need to Manually change waypoint on the PVI if you are not in Route AP mode.

Ok, that's what I needed to know. I guess I need to start thinking in Russian. :smilewink:

Thank you for the answer!

Hi,

 

I`m starting to get a good grasp on how the flare dispenser works

However, for all the things you can make it do its not entirely clear WHY you should do them.

 

`program the dispenser as required` is all i ever read in the manual and training.

 

Why should I be switchin up the intervals and sequences and whatnot ? When should i activate them, etc....

 

Is there a good link somewhere on correct flare usage for the Shark ?

Flares can be dispensed as a pre-emptive measure against possible threats when operating in a HZ. The rationale being that it would be more difficult for a MANPAD for example to establish a Lock on your Helo whilst you are dispensing Flares.

 

Personally I find this counter-productive in the Shark as you light yourself up like Guy Fawx on a Good Night......And if you're Low and Slow to begin with, any form of advertising your position does not sit well! That said, I have a macro programmed to dispense Bundles of Flares which are released as a direct response to a visually acquired I/R Missile Launch. Dependant on range etc, Flares released as such usually very effective in spoofing the incoming missile.

 

Learn to Identify your Hostiles and deploy flares against I/R Missiles only - useless against Radar SAM's, TOW's and the like. Use them - better to go down with an empty dispenser than a full one :)

...Do you have to switch manually to the next waypoint on the PVI-800 when flying the route manually (NOT in Route mode)?...

 

I will reinforce my noobishness by the following:

If you already have a pre planned flight path, with all WP's set, then why would would you not use AP? Disengaging AP is straightforward if you need to.

I don't mean for this to sound like a challenge.

I am curious as to what instances you would favour a manual route over AP managed route.

I hope we are on the same frequency. Maybe we are talking about different things here. We'll see. :)

Well, the main reason on not using the Route AP mode is, challenge. I was flying a night navigation mission made by Speedbrake when I realised the thing that I was asking about.

Flying the aircraft below 100 m AGL precisely on the track, keeping the ball centered and in dark with your NVGs is quite challenging and fun.

While pulling the collective on the runway, engaging Route mode and just watching the Shark navigate on its own doesn't really sound too exciting, does it?

Edited September 16, 2009 by Griffin

TBH, getting the Shark off the ground at any time is exiting! :D

From a noobs perspective, anyway...

Yes indeed it certainly is!

 

Finally yesterday, after a week of hard training and practice, I managed to successfully take off, fly to specific waypoints, blow a few things up, and return and land safely.

I felt such joy and elation from being able to actually accomplish something this time, especially without crashing and burning!

 

I used Par_Bellum's tutorial on how to take off and blow things up, I screwed up on the first attempt, but second attempt seemed to get it right!

I guess now this will keep me coming back for more - going to practice the same tutorial at least couple more times...

@d.burnette,

Parabellums tutorial is really very helpful. I have flown the mission at least 5 times, now; 2 times successfully :)

But, believe it or not, I still have trouble with the shooting range! Getting myself setup and trying to take out tanks that don't shoot back should be a doddle. The problem for me is, whenever I expend all remaining, by the time I get back to airfield and load up again, it's dark! I have noticed that it takes between 2 and 3 Vihkrs to kill one of these tanks. I am not too close to minimum range, AFAIK, and my Shkval reticle is locked and squared up with no ground in frame (if that makes sense). Is this normal?

BTW, I am not quite skilled up yet to use unguided rockets. Just can't quite line 'em up safely.

I have not given the shooting range a try yet, will run the tutorial a couple more times then venture out there and see how I do there.

 

Yeah - I am pretty wild with the unguided rockets right now myself, will definitely have to hone my skills some to be able to succesfully use those.

astropud = I have flown the mission couple more times - for me it takes two to kill a tank. And even then, it takes just a few seconds after the second hit for the tank to explode and be deemed a kill.

 

I have been somewhat successful now using the rockets on the infantry at the next waypoint after the tanks - however with the gun, I truly suck... have a lot of work to do to get anywhere near proficient with the gun.

 

I could be wrong but I don't think in this mission , if done properly, you should have to go back to the airfield to re-arm. But not for sure, as I have not exactly done it properly and got all the kills yet I don't think...

As a Noob to this sim, having being first introduced to Helli Sims through my Tandy computer with Longbow one, this Sim is just awesome. It's some learning curve. Forum members' info is soooo needed. Thanks for all your help. :-)